Fenwick pitches shutout to defeat Lowell Catholic

PEABODY ? Opponents ought to start measuring their success against Bishop Fenwick’s defense in yards and first downs, because the Crusaders aren’t giving up points anymore.Fenwick’s defense posted its third shutout in four games as the Crusaders walloped Lowell Catholic, 38-0, Friday night, in a Division 5 North semifinal play-off game at Donaldson Stadium. Fenwick (9-0) plays the winner of the other semifinal between Greater Lawrence and Whitter today.Not only did Fenwick hold Lowell Catholic to 77 yards of total offense (42 of which came in the last two minutes against Fenwick’s second unit), the defense scored the first eight points, on a safety and a pick-6 by Brian Fitzpatrick.”When you play defense like we do, you can make some things happen,” Fenwick coach David Woods said. “We made those two big plays early in the game, and it really set the tone.”Rufus Rushins added a pair of touchdown runs, while quarterback Mike Campatelli threw for one score to Robert Carrillo and ran for another before leaving the game with a knee injury in the third quarter. Campatelli was replacing Matt Renzulli, who last week injured his ankle and was limited to defense last night.”(Renzulli) could have played (quarterback) if we had really needed him, but the team has 100 percent faith in Campatelli,” Woods said.Lowell Catholic’s first series started at its own 2-yard line after Jhavon Robinson unwisely tried to return a punt out of his own zone. Two plays later, quarterback Kyle Rafferty and halfback Kennedy Warihiu couldn’t connect on a pitch, and Rafferty had to cover the ball in the back of the end zone for a safety.On Lowell Catholic’s next offensive series Fitzpatrick stepped in front of a Rafferty pass in the flat at the 16-yard line and ran untouched into the end zone. After Lowell Catholic’s third series went three-and-out, Campatelli carried around left end for a 35-yard touchdown on the first play of Fenwick’s ensuing drive. Campatelli passed to David Hurley for a 2-point conversion and the Crusaders led, 18-0, with 4:49 left in the first quarter.Lowell Catholic picked up its first first down of the game on its next offensive series, but the drive stalled at the Fenwick 44. Rushins (140 yards on 20 carries) became a factor at that point, rushing for 17 and 24 yards on consecutive plays to move the ball to the Lowell Catholic 5-yard line, from which he rammed into the end zone on the next play. Rushins added a 2-point conversion to give Fenwick the 26-0 lead it held at halftime.The third quarter was played entirely in Lowell Catholic’s end of the field, but the period only featured one score, a 43-yard touchdown pass from Campatelli to Carrillo, who caught the ball in the center of the field and cut to the right sideline, eventually breaking a couple of tackles before making it into the end zone. Campatelli was knocked down on the play and had to be helped off the field. He was on crutches with an ice pack behind his left knee later in the game.Dan Mastromatteo engineered Fenwick’s final scoring drive, which again featured Rushins, who carried four straight plays, the last of which was a 3-yard touchdown run to make the score 38-0 with 8:18 left in the game.”We had a good week of practice, and it showed on the field tonight,” Woods said. “These kids have a lot of pride. They know what we did last year (winning the Division 5 Super Bowl title), but this is a different team. These kids want to make their own mark.”